The Fayette County Democratic Committee will gather for a brunch meeting on Saturday, June 16. The meeting will be held at Onyxx restaurant in Fayetteville at 10 a.m. Brunch will be available for $7/person.

Connie Biemiller, a clinical social worker and chairman of the South Fulton and Fayette Community Task Force, will inform the Fayette Democrats about the harm that has been brought to our community by the toxic release of the pesticide, Ethoprop. Many Fayette residents report on-going physical impairment after exposure to this chemical from a waste water treatment facility in Fairburn last year.

Biemiller became a citizen activist in the summer of 2006 when the “onion smell” became prevalent in the Fayette County area. She began making calls to the state Environmental Protection Division and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and learned that toxic chemicals were being released from a nearby waste water treatment plant. Biemiller created a petition and set up signs in her neighborhood to educate and alert her community about this issue. The South Fulton and Fayette Community Task Force lobbied to have the waste water treatment plant’s permit pulled--stopping them from emitting any more toxins into the air and shutting down 90% of their business at their Fairburn location.

Many in the surrounding community still report adverse health effects from exposure to the toxic pesticide, Ethoprop. Biemiller believes, from her research in pesticide exposure, that many more in this community will become ill in years to come.

The Fayette County Democrats meet on the third Saturday of each month. Onyxx restaurant is located at 750 North Glenn Street (Georgia Highway 85) in Fayetteville. For directions or for more information, call Judith Moore, Chair, at 770-969-5237 or via e-mail at judith44@bellsouth.net.

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